Courage

     Courage. There are so many different opinions on what it is! Mark Twain says that "courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear--not absence of fear...Consider the flea! incomparably the bravest of all the creatures--if ignorance of fear were courage."
     General Geaorge Patton says this; "Courage is fear holding on a minute longer."
     Harold Wilson says that "courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're the only one who knows you're scared to death."
     A true showing of courage is presented in the Bible. Esther had true courage. She was a young girl chosen to be taken to Xerxes' palace to become his new wife. (Xerxes' wife had shamed him by being defiant; refusing to come and show her beauty to his guests.) Esther went, underwent beauty treatments, and was taken to the king. He fell in love at first sight, and they were wed.
     Now, Esther was a Jew. But Mordecai, her uncle who raised her, told her to not reveal that to anyone. She obeyed his instructions-- that is until she was asked to do otherwise.
     Haman, the king's right-hand man, hated Mordecai. Why? Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. Mordecai was doing the right thing of course, but it caused trouble still.
     Haman devised a plan to have all the Jews annihilated (or killed). He went to the king and told him that there were people who were a threat to the kingdom, got the king's seal and set the decree in motion.
     Mordecai told Esther about the plan, and she had to do something. He told her this; " For if you remain silent at this time,  relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)
     After fasting and praying for three days, she went to the king. Luckily, he welcomed her. She invited him and Haman to dine with her. So, they came. Xerxes asked her what she really wanted; he told her he would give her anything up to half of the kingdom. She asked them to dine with them again the next night. They agreed.
     That night, when they were all dining, Xerxes asked her what she really wanted, and told her he would give it to her, up to half of the kingdom. That was the moment of truth--she revealed Haman's plot. The king was so angry that he had to go walk in the garden to cool down. Haman went to the queen, and was so scared he fell on top of her. The king walked in at that moment, and ordered him to be put to death. The proclamation  that Haman had put out could not be revoked-- Xerxes fixed that by saying that the Jews could fight to protect themselves when the soldiers came to kill them.
     What Esther did took courage. She won because she because she put her faith in God. She could have been killed for what she did! But God protected her and helped her. He does the same for anyone who asks. Ultimately, TRUE COURAGE COMES FROM GOD! NO ONE OR ANYTHING ELSE CAN PROVIDE THAT FOR US!